Team's vision and style win the day

The outcome of this year's Hong Kong Institute of CPAs QP Case Analysis Competition was a surprise to most who thought that Team 88 should have won after pocketing the awards for best presenter and best written report. Instead, the top prize went to Team 139, which impressed the judges with its presentation style and visionary business solutions.

Karl Chan Ka-ki, Team 139 leader, believes their diversity allowed them to think from various angles to come up with the best solutions.

"Two of us are accounting students while the other two are in marketing. This was a perfect match, as we had team mates who were good with numbers and others who knew about the market and consumer behaviour," he said.

Jessica Chow Lok-yan agreed that the group had great chemistry. "We often confronted one another about the feasibility and effectiveness of suggested business solutions. These were constructive arguments that pushed us to come up with the best possible solutions."

The senior-year students said it was hard balancing exams, job-hunting and the contest. "In the two weeks before the presentation, we met every day to work on it," Chan said.

Team 139 suggested using the mobile phone as a delivery channel - a strategy that the judges found very convincing. "We saw that the company in the case was facing the challenge of rising costs, so using mobile phones as a delivery channel could cut rental and labour costs," Chan added.

Chow said it was very affirming that their approach impressed the judges. "Compared with the other teams, we had less research on the company's financial figures. Instead, we took a people-oriented approach," she said.

Tian Yajing cited the team's winning presentation style. "Before the competition, we presented to our classmates and teachers to ensure they understood us. We're very happy the judges thought so highly of our presentation."

Yvonne Cheung Yik-wung said they never set boundaries in their research. "We were constantly tweaking our plan if we managed to find a way to improve on it. The workload was overwhelming, but it was well worth it," she added.